


on the other side of the mirror

by gaiarcane



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Canon Non-Binary Character, Character's Name Spelled as Hanji, Levi-centric (Shingeki no Kyojin), Nonbinary Hange Zoë, Other, levihan - Freeform, possible manga spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-07
Updated: 2019-08-07
Packaged: 2020-08-11 00:14:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20144347
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gaiarcane/pseuds/gaiarcane
Summary: One should never forget to find some time for themselves, even in the middle of a battle.





	on the other side of the mirror

Levi breathes in, then out.

The battlefield behind him is roaring, and if he’s not mistaken, Levi can hear familiar voices, screaming and yelling for their lives. Humanity’s best soldier hops off from the large tree log he was sitting on, and gazes at his surroundings.

It is a mess, truly. There is other word to describe what he can see, except chaos, mayhem, and _hell_.

But Levi, for the first time in forever, is calm. Amidst the blood, the flesh and the dead bodies surrounding him, Levi walks in a straight line, until he reaches a small clearing. There, the noise is a bit less deafening, and much more tolerable. The sound of battle had never left Levi, and wherever he went, it followed him.

He begins to think that he was born to fight.

He walks down a small path that leads to a cabin, where he spots somebody he knows, appreciates and cares about.

Hanji is there, away from the battle, too.

They’re currently picking up herbs, or flowers, who knows. Levi approaches them, and Hanji straight up _smile_ when they notice the captain creeping up on them.

The warmth pooling in Levi’s stomach makes him feel _alive_.

“Ah, I was waiting for you!” Hanji exclaims, handing out a small bouquet for Levi to take.

He takes it, but doesn’t pay much attention to it. He knows it’s not for _him_, at least, not in that way.

Levi looks around, but sees nobody else except Hanji. “Where are the others?”

“Ah, I doubt they’ll join us today.” Hanji informs him, staring at the place where Levi arrived from. They brush some grass off their knees before they speak again. “It’s just the two of us for now.”

The captain nods, and stares at the place he just left, the battlefield. Hanji moves closer to elbow him in the ribs playfully, and Levi looks at them.

Sunlight hits their brown eye, giving it a beautiful golden colour that somehow feels reassuring.

_Home, is that what they call it? _

“It’s always been us two, right?” Hanji teases him, and Levi thinks of all the times they’ve ended up together, on the battlefield, in the barracks, inside the walls, in his bed, and countless other places. Whenever Levi thinks of home, Hanji’s eyes are what he sees.

Hanji links their arm with Levi’s. “Wanna go for a walk?”

Levi accepts. Arm in arm, pressed against the other, they walk towards the battlefield. Hanji mutters something about the weather, but Levi hardly hears it. It’s muffled under this terrible sound surrounding them, the one that would surely have caused him to grow worried if it was under any other circumstances.

But he’s with Hanji, and they’re safe now.

Levi thinks he sees Armin, titan marks still fresh on his cheeks. It’s so chaotic around them that Levi doubts it’s truly him, but when he gets a glimpse of Mikasa near him right after, he smiles to himself.

_At least, those two will make it. _

Hanji nudges him, and Levi stares in front of him, mindful of where they’re walking. The titans don’t pay attention to them, for some reason, and Levi is thankful for this fact. One could say that he’s too tired to fight, though he would hate to admit it.

_Perhaps retirement wouldn’t be that bad_, Levi thinks.

They arrive to the river, where Hanji wanted to lead him, Levi is sure of it, and Hanji sits on a large rock. After taking off their shoes, they soak their feet in the familiar water that they both had dived into, days, weeks, perhaps months ago.

As if Hanji could read his thoughts (and Levi thinks they can), Hanji speaks.

“How much time has it been, since I found you here all bloody and almost dying, huh?” They wonder out loud, but Levi does not answer. Either he does not know or does not remember. Times passes by strangely nowadays.

Levi puts the bouquet on the grass and sits on the rock with Hanji. Their shoulders brush lightly, and it’s warmly comforting. As if they were standing in front of the fireplace, a mug of hot chocolate in their hands and a good book in their laps.

The reality is far different.

“I’m happy, though.” Hanji adds. “We managed to get our little farm where I got to grew up plants.”

Ah, the wish, the dream, perhaps, that they had joked about ages ago. Levi wishes it could still become true.

“The cabin? It hardly counts as a farm, shitty four-eyes.” Levi retorts, and Hanji chuckles.

Somebody gets trampled near them, but they don’t turn around. Hanji’s hand finds its way to Levi’s, and softly, they intertwine their fingers together.

“I’d like to say that I’m glad I’m by your side.” Hanji blurts out, and they’re so close Levi can feel their shaky breath. They’re holding in a sob, Levi knows it. But they keep speaking anyway. “I mean, out of all people, I’m glad I’m with _you_.”

Levi grabs their hand tighter. No words are necessary. He feels the same, and Hanji knows it.

“I wish the others could be there, though.” Hanji says regretfully, and turns around to look at the battlefield. “We’re so lame for leaving the party so soon.”

The captain, _not anymore, he thinks_, knows where this is going.

“Hey, don’t.” Levi says when Hanji hides their face with their other hand as a tear rolls down their cheek. He’s still as clumsy as ever when it comes to this, but he tries his best. “You did the best you could. Without you, it would be far worse.”

Hanji sniffs, wipes their tears away and glares back at Levi. “Do you truly think that?”

“I do.” is Levi’s immediate response.

The commander, _not anymore, they think_, chuckles sadly. It hurts both of them.

“Look behind us, Levi. It couldn’t get any worse.” Hanji declares.

Levi takes both of their hands in his, forcing Hanji to look back at him.

“No, that’s not true.” Levi argues. “Look carefully. Can’t you see our soldiers, fighting the best they can? They did not give up. It means you did good. You taught them well.”

Hanji does as they’re told, and finds it heart-warming to see Jean right as Levi speaks, fighting for his life and for humanity’s future.

The new commander of the survey corps looks great.

The previous one hops off the rock, hand still linked with Levi’s as they begin to walk down the river, towards a familiar place they’ve been to before. They move in silence, relishing in the other’s presence on this fateful day.

Then, when they get to the place, Levi lowers the bouquet next to another one, and walks back towards where Hanji is standing.

“Ah, two bouquets.” Hanji points out. “It’s been 4 days. I think.”

“Feels surreal.” Levi comments, and Hanji nods. Time passes by strangely nowadays.

Hanji links their arm with Levi’s again, and puts their head on his shoulder, gazing at the flowers in front of them.

Then, they chuckle. Levi moves away, frowning.

_What?_ He silently asks.

“It’s so stupid.” Hanji admits, and Levi isn’t surprised. But he stops himself from commenting on that. “I was just wondering what they might say when they find us here, tangled together.”

Levi looks in front of him, and snorts. “Does it matter anymore though?”

“No, it does not.” Hanji replies, and they fall into comfortable silence for a while, before Levi speaks again.

“They might not even find us.” Levi says.

“They’d be dumb.” Hanji comments. “We’re right there.”

Levi sighs. “Perhaps we’ll get trampled on and we’ll merge with the ground or something.”

Hanji chuckles. Somehow, it’s not that bad of an idea.

Levi looks at the corpses in front of him, still holding each other tight despite the ruckus around them. His own survey corps’ cloak is torn everywhere, and if he thinks a bit too hard about it, he’d be dying to get rid of every parasite that has tried to eat him away.

Hanji’s clothes look even worse. The commander, _in their last moments, Levi guessed_, had brought Levi close to their chest, protecting him from whoever must have ended both of their lives. The two of them looked at their dead selves with nothing that resembled anger; what was done was done. It was an ending fitting for them both.

“Then we’ll be together.” Hanji replies. “Until there is no ground anymore.”

Levi snorts.

“Damn, you’re even sappier when you’re dead.” Levi jokes, and Hanji elbows him again.

Somehow, this feels like heaven.

**Author's Note:**

> aaaa this is truly the saddest thing i’ve ever written i-  
I blame isayama it’s bc this month’s chapter got my mind FUCKED UP im??? what even is this
> 
> so they’re… dead lol as in GHOSTS and they actually died….. before the rumbling started…...this is them waiting for the rumbling to destroy everything…..while armin and co are fighting in the background…..but I guess you can interpret it however you want lol
> 
> also have you heard about the snk expo?? they released the sound of “the end of aot” I think it was called something like that and it’s truly….unsettling???? that’s the sound i’m speaking about in this work lol just found it it’s here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Px2bte6CbL8&feature=youtu.be 
> 
> as always it’s not proofread and it’s like 4am so hmu in case there are mistakes lol
> 
> btw i made a curiouscat in case people want to speak to me about anything that's not related to my work lol since i've been told that perhaps some people come here simply to chat with me.... curiouscat seems more practical for that so there you go https://curiouscat.me/gaiarcane
> 
> have a good day!!


End file.
